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Trick or Treat Was Born in Alberta, Canada — The 99-Year Story Behind Halloween’s Most Famous Phrase
Every October, billions of people around the world say the same two words.
Trick or treat.
The phrase is so embedded in Halloween that most people have never stopped to ask where it actually came from. The answer isn’t Hollywood. It isn’t New York. It isn’t an American candy company campaign.
The earliest known printed use of ‘trick or treat’ appeared in Alberta, Canada, in 1927. This year, that makes the phrase 99 years old. Next year, it turns 100.
That milestone
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Jul 11, 2026